FEDERAL ELECTION COMMISSION

Washington, DC 20463

MEMORANDUM

TO: 

FROM: 

DATE: 

SUBJECT: 

The Commission 

Office of the Commission Secretary VFV

August 18, 2022

AO 2022-14 (Google LLC) 12 Late

Comments on Agenda Doc. No. 22-37-A

Attached are 12 late comments on AO 2022-14 (Google LLC) for 

Agenda Document No. 22-37-A, which was discussed during 

the open meeting on August 11, 2022.

Attachment
From: Lynn Keys

To: AO

Subject: AO-2022-14

Date: Thursday, August 11, 2022 12:04:28 PM

I am writing to tell you that I am opposed to Gmail‘s potential change in policy to allow political emails to come

directly into my inbox. It will cause unnecessary hardship to me to have to go through those on a daily basis.

Thank you
From: Susan LeFever

To: AO

Subject: AO 2022-14 (Google)

Date: Saturday, August 13, 2022 5:51:49 PM

I would like to urge you to reject Google’s AO request and protect the integrity

 of Federal Elections.

There is too much SPAM and false information being circulated, and you must

enforce compliance with federal election laws. Corporations should not be

permitted to influence our elections!

Sincerely,

Susan Lefever

California
From: Alexander Rodarte

To: AO

Subject: AO 2022-14

Date: Thursday, August 11, 2022 9:08:24 PM

Please do not allow Gmail to allow political emails out of the spam folder. If I want to hear

from my favorite MAGA candidate, I add him or her to my contacts. Same for my Think Blue

dandidates.

Thanks,

Alex

-- 

Alexander Rodarte, M.D.
From: Elizabeth Sachs

To: AO

Subject: AO 2022-14

Date: Thursday, August 11, 2022 11:55:20 AM

Regarding Google's request to allow more political emails through instead of blocking them as

spam - which for the most part they are.

As with most people, dealing with spam is a significant issue and keeping it out of our

respective email boxes is a constant effort. Re this specific request, I vote to keep the current

restrictions in-place.

I am neither a Republican nor a Democrat, but a pure Independent. However, I believe that the

constant yammering by the Republican's, Trumpists, and the Right Wing groups and their

constant efforts to bombard people with disinformation and 'contribution' requests is not only

irritating in the extreme, but I believe many times approaches being very problematic, and

possibly illegal.

I look to the FEC to provide some sanity in this environment, especially in light of the

Republican's efforts to label this as effectively 'in-kind' corporate contributions to the

Democrats. Frankly, I believe the current Republican Party, many of its adherents, the Right

Wing aligned media, and just about every Right Wing organization will try anything to win,

regardless of its moral or other issues.

Please do not allow the spam restrictions that Google uses to filter much of this political 'stuff'

and relegate to the folder as spam - as it should be. 

Sincerely,

Elizabeth Sachs
From: Rob I

To: AO

Subject: AO 2022-14

Date: Tuesday, August 16, 2022 10:41:30 AM

I vote "no" on this dumb Google proposal.

-- Rob Ingenthron --
From: Diane Pickrel

To: AO

Subject: AO 2202-14 (Google)

Date: Friday, August 12, 2022 12:53:03 AM

Dears Ladies and Gentleman,

Please reject the political spam proposal made by Google. I and many others would appreciate it.

Thank You, Diane Pickrel
From: Christopher Cashell

To: AO

Subject: Comment to Google"s Request for Opinion on Pilot Program - AO 2022-14

Date: Friday, August 12, 2022 7:57:05 PM

I recently heard about Google's request for an FEC opinion on whether Google can conduct a

pilot program in which e-mail from political campaigns and candidates would be allowed to

bypass Google's spam filters for Gmail users, essentially reducing functionality and crippling

spam detection/prevention with regards to political e-mail.

While I am not interested in directing Google on how they can or should run their business, I

am very concerned with this direction. This concern comes both as an IT professional for

more than 25 years, and as a user of Gmail. To put it bluntly, this is a horrible idea and it

punishes the public while giving politicians a free pass to literally spam the American public.

People are already sick and tired of the unceasing campaigning, the negative advertising, and

the disrespectful behavior of our politicians. Programs like this, pushed by politicians for their

own benefit at the expense of the common good, will only drive apathy, anger, and further

distrust of our political system.

Political candidates and campaigns should be following exactly the same rules and offering

the same respect to their constituents (and their constituents' inboxes) as any commercial

entity. Allowing them to circumvent spam filters and ignore the wishes of end users is,

frankly, abhorrent. I'm disappointed in Google for even considering this, and I'm disgusted

with politicians that are trying to browbeat them into this sort of behavior.

-- 

Christopher P Cashell

Director, Information Technology
From: Dale Parker

To: AO

Subject: Google"s request AO 2022-14

Date: Sunday, August 14, 2022 9:46:42 AM

Gentlemen,

 Since one of the left-leaning giants wants to play politics in support of their view, FORCE them to

leave

ALL political emails alone - we already have to delete 90% of the garbage we get anyway, and this would

not

appreciably add to the list. Why should the FEC do anything less, the FCC can't stop spam phone calls

that

certainly are not limited to one side or the other.

Roger Parker

8/14/22
From:

To: AO

Subject: Google"s request: "AO 2022-14

Date: Friday, August 12, 2022 11:44:09 AM

Hello,

With regard to Google's request: AO 2022-14:

PLEASE DO NOT CHANGE THE CLASSIFICATION OF POLITICAL EMAIL MESSSAGES, SO

THAT THEY GET THROUGH MY SPAM FILTER.

I rely on my SPAM filter to reduce the amount of spam, junk, fraud, etc. to my inbox.

Please do not facilitate political parties’ ability to invade my privacy.

Thank you,

Jeff Butler
From: Susan L. Anderson

To: AO

Subject: Political Emails bypassing spam

Date: Thursday, August 11, 2022 9:15:04 AM

Do NOT send political spam to me!

If I receive it, I will start a spread sheet of the candidates, and vote AGAINST the candidates who violate my

privacy the most.

Do citizens not have any rights or choices left?????

Sent from my iPhone
From:

To: AO

Subject: RE: Google"s request: "AO 2022-14

Date: Friday, August 12, 2022 11:34:26 AM

Hello,

With regard to Google's request: "AO 2022-14”:

PLEASE DO NOT MAKE POLITICAL EMAILS, REGARDLESS OF THEIR ORIGIN, EXEMPT FROM BEING

CATEGORIZED AS SPAM.

I rely on my email program, at my instruction, to filter-out as much political junk as possible. Please

do not change this.

Thank you,

Jeff Butler
From: D Bear

To: AO

Subject: Google email spam from politicians

Date: Monday, August 15, 2022 12:33:33 PM

It is infuriating that I can't block the snail mail that chokes my mailbox when our professional liars (politicians)

begin their importunate begging to get into office.

Please don't allow them to compound their invasion of my privacy by allowing Google to let them choke my email

acct with their noxious propaganda too.